Brush Chipper with Improved Feed Rollers

ABSTRACT

An improved feed roller assembly wherein the feed roller provides a force perpendicular to the feed direction of the brush material. In a first embodiment, cleats that are not parallel to an axis of rotation of the feed roller are affixed to a periphery of the feed roller. When the feed roller is oriented with its axis of rotation in a substantially vertical position, each cleat is arranged with its upper end ahead of its lower end, in a direction of rotation. This configuration provides a downward force on the logs or brush being fed into the chipper, thereby reducing the occurrence of bucking. In an additional embodiment, the axes of rotation of the feed rollers lean toward the outfeed end of the brush chipper.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a brush chipper. More particularly the present invention relates to an improved feed roller system for feeding brush into the brush chipper.

2. Background Art

Chippers for trees, brush and other woody material, herein referred to collectively as “brush chippers,” having a pair of feed rollers for feeding the wood or brush into the chipper mechanism are well known. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,532, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. As clearly shown in FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,532, a plurality of straight cleats is included around the periphery on the feed rollers for engaging the brush being fed into the chipper.

In U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,549, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference, feed rollers are disclosed for a chipper. Straight, axially extending ribs, or cleats, are disclosed as being provided to engage wood material to grip the wood material and advance it toward the drum. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,548 by Bouwers et al. is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.

Brush chippers of the prior art have been provided a disk-type cutter or chipper, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,532, or a drum-type chipper as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,549.

Various methods for controlling the feed rollers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,011,258, 7,040,558, and 7,044,409, each hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.

It has been the experience of operators of brush chippers, that movement of limbs or logs being fed into the chipper can cause bucking by either the limb/log or the chipping machine. This bucking is more pronounced in longer material extended over the feed table. The straight cleats or ribs of the prior art have not provided remedy for the observed bucking.

There is, therefore, a need for improved brush feed rollers provided on brush chippers to reduce the chance of bucking as long material is fed into the chipper.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a feed roller configuration for a brush chipper to reduce the occurrence of bucking as long material is fed into the brush chipper. To effect this object, in one embodiment, feed rollers are oriented with their axes of rotation in a substantially vertical direction. Cleats are provided around the periphery of the feed roller that are not parallel to the axis of rotation of the feed roller to which the cleats are attached. Rather, the top end of each cleat is oriented toward the direction of rotation relative to the lower end of said cleat. Hence, as the cleat engages the wood material and travels toward the chipper drum or disk, the top end of the cleat is closer to the chipper drum or disk than the lower end. The result is: the wood material is forced downward, toward the infeed table by the feed rollers. Experience has shown this reduces the chance of bucking.

In a further embodiment, the feed roller may be oriented with its axis of rotation in a substantially horizontal configuration. Here, the cleats would be arranged again in a spiral manner, such as to force the wood material into the chipper disk or drum to reduce the occurrence of bucking.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the axes of rotation of the feed rollers are angled relative to a plane perpendicular to the feed direction of the brush into the chipper. In particular, the axes of rotation may reside in a vertical plane that is parallel to the feed direction, and also lean toward the outfeed end of the brush chipper.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a brush chipper with some housing cut away to show details of the feed rollers;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a feed roller assembly;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pair of feed rollers with their associated assembly;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the pair of feed rollers;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the feed roller showing the orientation of cleats;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the feed roller;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the brush chipper assembly with a log being fed into the chipper;

FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of the brush chipper assembly depicting how a forward end of a long log may elevate, resulting in bucking;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation detail of the brush chipper with a log;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation detail of the brush chipper showing an alternative embodiment; and

FIG. 11 is a plan view of parts of the brush chipper having a disk-type chipper or cutter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Refer now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views. A brush chipper 10, illustrated with two feed rollers 100 of the present invention, is shown in FIGS. 1, 7, and 8. Besides the two feed rollers 100, the brush chipper comprises a feed table 110 having perpendicular sides 120 (only one shown) for structural support and for guiding logs 710 (see FIG. 7) or brush into the brush chipper 10.

Once the woody material 710 has been chipped into wood chips, the resulting wood chips are expelled through a rotatable chute 130.

The brush chipper 10 is often mounted on a frame 170 to which wheels 140 (only one shown) are operatively attached, as shown, however, tracks and skids may also be used, and the brush chipper 10 may be stationary as well. The present invention is not limited to any particular conveyance apparatus, nor does it require the brush chipper 10 be portable. The wheels 140 or other structures are supported on a sold surface 720 (see FIG. 7) such as the ground, a road, a concrete slab, etc.

Generally, the brush chipper 10 has an infeed end 150 and an outfeed end 160. A feed direction is defined, for the purposes of this document, including the claims, as the direction the material 710 is forced while it is being chipped; that is, the feed direction is the direction going from the infeed end 150 to the outfeed end 160 of the brush chipper 10.

A feed roller assembly 200 is illustrated in FIG. 2. The feed roller assembly 200 comprises the feed roller 100, a plurality of spiral cleats 210, a drive 220, which may be a hydraulic or electric motor, or a belt or chain drive, etc. The nature of the drive 220 of the feed roller 100 is immaterial to the present invention. Each roller 100 is attached to a shaft of the drive 220 by a nut 250. Additionally, the feed roller assembly 200 comprises a feed roller bracket 230 providing a mount for the drive 220, and attachments 240 for springs 310 shown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 3, a tensioning system is shown which provides the forces required to maintain contact and friction on the wood or brush 710 being conveyed by the feed rollers 100. Each of the feed roller brackets 230 is slidably engaged in a guide 320. The feed roller brackets 230 are captive between the guide 320 and retainers 330. The guide 320 permits motion of the feed rollers 100 parallel to a line drawn between and normal to the feed rollers' axes of rotation 340. The springs 310 cause the feed rollers 100 toward one another, thereby gripping wood and brush 710 sufficiently to cause it to feed continuously, yet also permitting the feed rollers 100 to slip if a feed rate is too great, or if the material is jammed.

A view of the feed rollers 100 from below is shown in FIG. 4. The bottom of the infeed table 110 is seen to the right of the feed rollers 100, while a chipper drum 410 resides to the left of the feed rollers 100. Infeed rotational directions for each of the two feed rollers 100 are shown by arrows 420. Those of ordinary skill are well aware the indicated directions are required to feed material 710 into the cutter drum 410 or disk (not shown), and that these directions must be reversed to free material 710 from a jammed condition. The infeed rotational direction of the feed rollers 100 is hereby defined as shown in FIG. 4 to be the direction 420 of feed roller rotation providing force to the woody material 710 in the feed direction.

As the cleats 210 pass between the two feed rollers 100, the top of each cleat 210 leads the bottom of that cleat 210 by a distance, A, as shown in FIG. 5, or by an angle, D, as seen in FIG. 6. Appropriate values for the distance A and the angle D are obtained as functions of a feed roller height, B, a feed roller diameter, C, a feed roller rotational speed, and the expected material 710 to be chipped.

The log 710 of FIG. 7 is shown being fed into the brush chipper 10. The rear portion of the log 710, due to its weight and bearing on the feed table 110, is lower than the forward portion of the log 710, in the vicinity of the feed rollers 100. In FIG. 8, the log 710 has been straightened out by virtue of the spiral cleats' 210 force applied to the log 710 in a downward direction.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, an alternative embodiment is contrasted with the previously described embodiment. In FIG. 9, the first embodiment of the feed rollers 100 with spiral cleats 210 is shown. In FIG. 10, a second embodiment of the feed rollers 1000 is shown wherein the cleats 1010 are substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 1020 of their respective feed roller 1000. The axes of rotation 1020, however, are not vertical but angled at an angle θ as shown with the upper portion of the axes 1020 nearer the outfeed end of the brush chipper 10 than the lower portion of the axes 1020. With the axes of rotation 1020 angled in this manner, the woody material 710 is forced downward in the vicinity of the cutter 410.

In FIG. 11, the first embodiment of the present invention is shown on a brush chipper 10 having a disk-type cutter assembly 1110. The present invention, in any of its embodiments, is not limited to a particular style of cutter 410, 1110.

Although two feed rollers 100 are typical for brush chippers, a single feed roller 100 may be used by itself.

The above embodiments are the preferred embodiments, but this invention is not limited thereto. It is, therefore, apparent that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described. 

1. A method of improving a feed of woody material into a brush chipper, said brush chipper comprising at least one feed roller, the at least one feed roller comprising an axis of rotation and a cleat, the method comprising: (a) orienting the axis of rotation of the at least one feed roller to be substantially vertical when the brush chipper is supported on a level surface; and (b) orienting the cleat such that the cleat is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the at least one feed roller.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cleat comprises an upper end and a lower end, the method additionally comprising orienting the upper end of the cleat ahead, in an infeed direction of rotation, of the lower end of the cleat.
 3. The method of claim 1 additionally comprising providing a force with the cleat on the woody material in a direction toward a surface on which the brush chipper is supported.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one feed roller additionally comprises a plurality of cleats, the method additionally comprising orienting each of the plurality of cleats such that each of the plurality of cleats is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the at least one feed roller.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said brush chipper comprises a pair of feed rollers and a plurality of cleats, the method additionally comprising: (a) orienting the axes of rotation of both feed rollers to be substantially vertical when the brush chipper is supported on a level surface; and (b) orienting the plurality of cleats such that each of the plurality of cleats is not parallel to the axes of rotation of the pair of feed rollers.
 6. A method of feeding woody material into a brush chipper, said brush chipper comprising at least one feed roller, the at least one feed roller comprising an axis of rotation and a cleat having a first end and a second end, the method comprising orienting the first end of the cleat ahead, in an infeed direction of rotation, of the second end of the cleat.
 7. The method of claim 6 additionally comprising forcing an end of the woody material into a cutter head by virtue of an orientation of the cleat.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein the cleat spans a finite angle about the feed roller, the method additionally comprising spanning less than 180° about the feed roller from the first end of the cleat to the second end of the cleat.
 9. A method of improving a feed of woody material into a brush chipper, said brush chipper comprising an outfeed end and at least one feed roller having an axis of rotation, the method comprising orienting the axis of rotation of the at least one feed roller to have a nonzero angle measured from a perpendicular to a feed direction.
 10. The method of claim 9 additionally comprising orienting the axis of rotation of the at least one feed roller to be angled from a vertical direction when the brush chipper is supported on a level surface such that a first point on the axis of rotation above the at least one feed roller is nearer the outfeed end of the brush chipper than a second point on the axis of rotation below the at least one feed roller.
 11. The method of claim 10 additionally comprising orienting the axis of rotation of the at least one feed roller in a vertical plane parallel to a feed direction.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one feed roller comprises a cleat, the method additionally comprising operatively affixing the cleat to a periphery of the at least one feed roller.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one feed roller comprises a cleat, the method additionally comprising operatively affixing the cleat to a periphery of the at least one feed roller and parallel to the axis of rotation of the at least one feed roller.
 14. An apparatus for feeding material into a brush chipper comprising: (a) a feed roller; (b) an axis of rotation of said feed roller, said axis of rotation oriented substantially vertically; (c) a cleat, operatively attached to the feed roller such that the cleat is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the feed roller.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 additionally comprising: (a) an upper end of the cleat; (b) a lower end of the cleat; (c) an attachment whereby the cleat is operatively attached to the feed roller such that the upper end of the cleat is more advanced, in an infeed direction of rotation, compared to the lower end of the cleat.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the feed roller comprises the first feed roller and the cleat comprises the first cleat, the apparatus additionally comprising: (a) a second feed roller; (b) an axis of rotation of the second feed roller, said axis of rotation oriented substantially vertically; (c) a second cleat, operatively attached to the second feed roller such that the second cleat is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the second feed roller.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16 additionally comprising: (a) a first source of rotational power to rotate the first feed roller; (b) a second source of rotational power to rotate the second feed roller; (c) an elastic suspension system to force the first and second feed rollers toward one another; (d) a first plurality of cleats, each of said first plurality of cleats operatively attached to the first feed roller such that each of the first plurality of cleats is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the first feed roller; and (e) a second plurality of cleats, each of said second plurality of cleats operatively attached to the second feed roller such that each of the second plurality of cleats is not parallel to the axis of rotation of the second feed roller.
 18. An apparatus for feeding material into a brush chipper comprising: (a) a feed roller; (b) an axis of rotation of said feed roller; (c) an infeed direction of rotation of the feed roller; and (d) a cleat having a first end and a second end, said cleat operatively attached to the feed roller such that the first end is ahead of the second end in the infeed direction of rotation.
 19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein the feed roller comprises the first feed roller and the cleat comprises the first cleat, the apparatus additionally comprising: (a) a second feed roller; (b) an axis of rotation of the second feed roller; (c) an infeed direction of rotation of the second feed roller; and (d) a second cleat having a first end and a second end, said second cleat operatively attached to the second feed roller such that the first end is ahead of the second end in the infeed direction of rotation.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19 additionally comprising: (a) a first source of rotational power to rotate the first feed roller; (b) a second source of rotational power to rotate the second feed roller; (c) an elastic suspension system to force the first and second feed rollers toward one another; (d) a first plurality of cleats, each of said first plurality of cleats operatively attached to the first feed roller such that a first end of each of the first plurality of cleats is forward, in the infeed direction of rotation, of a second end of the same cleat; and (e) a second plurality of cleats, each of said second plurality of cleats operatively attached to the second feed roller such that a first end of each of the second plurality of cleats is forward, in the infeed direction of rotation, of a second end of the same cleat.
 21. An apparatus for feeding material into a brush chipper comprising: (a) a feed roller; (b) an axis of rotation of said feed roller, said axis of rotation oriented with a nonzero angle measured from a perpendicular to a feed direction.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the axis of rotation of said feed roller is oriented with a nonzero angle from a vertical wherein a first point on the axis of rotation resides in the feed direction relative to a second point on the axis of rotation, said first point being above the second point.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22 additionally comprising a cleat operatively affixed to the feed roller.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23 additionally comprising a cleat operatively affixed to the feed roller wherein said cleat is oriented parallel to the axis of rotation.
 25. The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said feed roller comprises a first feed roller and said axis of rotation comprises a first axis of rotation, the apparatus additionally comprising: (a) a second feed roller; (b) a second axis of rotation of said second feed roller, said second axis of rotation oriented with a nonzero angle wherein a third point on the second axis of rotation resides in the feed direction relative to a fourth point on the second axis of rotation, said third point being above the fourth point. 